1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to networking and, in particular, to network management. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a command line interface for a network management platform.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data communication networks and network management platforms are well known in the art. In an effort to provide more graphical and intuitive management of data communication networks, many network management platforms have adopted menu or icon-based interfaces. Menu-based interfaces generally permit an operator to control particular network devices (e.g., computers, routers, bridges, and servers) by navigating through a series of linked menu screens and entering appropriate commands and parameter values. Icon-based interfaces, on the other hand, typically permit the operator to set parameters through dialog boxes or the like and to enter commands through the manipulation of graphical objects.
While such network management platform interfaces may provide easily-navigable and intuitive interfaces, a large amount of operator input can be required to perform conventional management functions for just one network device. Thus, the xe2x80x9cuser-friendlyxe2x80x9d characteristics that make menu and icon-based interfaces more accessible to inexperienced operators may actually hamper more experienced operators and do not easily lend themselves to automation, bundling of commands, script processing, and cut-and-paste editing operations.
The present invention addresses the above and other shortcomings in the art by providing United Command Interface (UCI), a command line and batch file interface for a network management platform.
In accordance with the present invention, UCI provides a command line interface for a network management platform including a parser that parses and validates inputs entered at a command line, a command processor that, responsive to validation of a command, causes an operation specified by the command to be performed, and an output facility that presents outputs of the command line interface. The parser preferably enforces a syntax addressing a plurality of attributes of a network device as a tree-like hierarchy including at least two containers. The parser permits network device attributes, which are each contained in at least one container, to be contained by multiple containers of the same type so that such attributes are addressable via a plurality of different access paths. The output facility preferably provides one or more outputs for operations specified by processed input commands, and the one or more outputs preferably include at least one output command specifying a network management operation to be performed. To facilitate entry of valid inputs, the command line interface may be further equipped with an input assistance facility that causes the output facility to present, for a selected network device in the communication network, a prompt for each of a plurality of attribute names that specifies possible attribute values for the plurality of attribute names.